To Break the Cycle
by tazdevil
Summary: I thought that life would always be the same, forever be a never-ending cycle. But no. As soon as Toushirou came into my life there was no hope for normalcy and thank god for that! Now there's ghosts, shinigami, and Weres. What else have I been missing?
1. Prologue

**Soooo… I'm gonna keep this short. So if you noticed this is a HitsugayaxOC story (because his life needs to be mixed up a little. That Hinamori….). So this is only the prologue, so don't kill me. I'm uploading the first chapter on the weekend. So please read and review!**

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**()() TO BREAK THE CYCLE ()()**

_()() To Break the Cycle ()()© tazdevil_

_Bleach © Tite Kubo_

**Prologue

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The world was an endless cycle. Deviating from it was death. But soon I would learn that even if you died there was still a cycle you followed. One would simply live on in a different place until it was time to be reincarnated again to move on the World of the Living. Then you would follow the cycle in that dimension, over and over and over again.

I guess I noticed around the third grade. After I had went through a couple of years of school I saw that it was all one big cycle. I would go to school then I would go home then I would go to dance or gymnastics. I would do homework then eat; I would clean up and then finally sleep. And what would happen next? It would all repeat. Life would go on and on until it got to summer, where I thought there was no set structure. But I was wrong. I started to see the pattern, that meticulously repeating pattern.

It bugged me. How could life be so boring? How could I sit by and let it be that way? To tell the truth, I tried to fight it. I tried to put a random moment in my day, to fight the inescapable cycle. Unfortunately, it didn't work. The random moments began to happen at approximately the same time of day, and truly one couldn't plan something random. But I hoped. I really did and I think some kind of higher power heard me.

Because he showed up.

Sweet serendipity graced me with a rare opportunity. She gave me something to break this horrid cycle, something that stood outside of it. And of course I grabbed at it with hungry, greedy little hands.

Lady serendipity graced me with a boy.

I was slow to grasp this at first because it was a slow process to understand this boy. He was something different, something strange, and if I were being truthful I would tell you that I thought he was a vampire. I blame a certain fiction writer.

But I'm not going to be truthful, so forget those last few sentences.

At first, when he took that decisive step into my life, I thought he would only become a part of my deceivingly monotonous cycle. I thought he would just blend in like a dull splatter of paint in the corner of a canvas. But again I was wrong, but this time not about something as trivial as summer.

Meeting him defied laws, that of reality and of society. Talking to him and seeing him broke so many dimensional barriers. And those were only meager offenses. Unfortunately (or rather fortunately for that matter- I never knew which way to take it) I went so much farther than just conversing with this uncommon boy. And that brings me to my final offense.

Loving him, that was a sin against nature.

So much so that the consequences were unimaginable. The only positive things that came from it were the truths that I learned and one more thing.

That it broke the cycle.

This boy, he helped me to escape the inescapable. He showed me what was thought to be invisible. He caused me-no, he caused _us_- to do the unthinkable.

But I wouldn't change a thing, lest it turn back into a cycle. If I could go back in time I would only do so to relive it again. I would only let it happen so that during the depressing times I would be ready; I would have a tough padding that would be the knowledge of what was to come. I would only let it occur so that all of the exhilarating moments could be intensified because I would pay more attention and not miss a thing.

But I wouldn't let it happen again because that would mean that it would all repeat.

And that would make it, yet again, a cycle.

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**So here's a new story. It's HistugayaxOC, because I love those. It's been bouncing around for awhile, and I have the first several chapters planned out (in my head. TEEHEE…). I just wrote a prologue because I wanted an epilogue (yeah I think of the beginning and the end, but it's so hard to think of the middle. It irks me.) But I'm going to post the first chapter over the weekend. Who really wants to keep reading a story that doesn't even give you name of the characters? So yeah. This is my first Toushirou fanfic! Please review! Flames are accepted (that means you at least had an opinion) but advise and compliments are welcomed with milk and cookies (like Santa Claus!) So please REVIEW!**

**~taz8D**


	2. The Hot New Kid

'**Ello! So I'm a little late… I'm SORRY! My OC's name is pronounced a-kee-ray. Just so you know. And I know her name's is somewhat weird but that will be clarified. Later….**

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**()() TO BREAK THE CYCLE ()()**

_()() To Break the Cycle ()() © tazdevil_

_Bleach © Tite Kubo_

**C H A P T E R O N E:**

_~The Hot New Kid~_

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**( O M A N A S H I A K I R E I )**

_Can we pretend that airplanes  
__In the night sky  
__Are like shooting stars_

No. No we couldn't. I paused the song with a simple tap of my thumb. It was such a good song…until it became _everyone's_ status. Now when I hear it, I'm pretty sure I twitch (in pure irritation). But that wasn't the only reason I stopped the song. It wasn't the one that I truly needed.

What I needed was an uplifting song, a fight song. And what for? I sighed and closed the book in my hands, finally staring at the cover. There lay an apple in cupped hands and the unmistakable word _Twilight_. What did a fruit have to do with the time of day anyway? I would have to remember to ask Sachiko later.

My thumb flicked up and down, my eyes flickered across the screen searching for a song. All the while my feet kept trudging forward to the well disguised prison that some people call school.

I could listen to I'll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan, but something tells me I'll be too wrapped in the song to actually pay attention to the book. Another flick and I was away from the tempting song. My other hand fingered my favorite yellow headphones, tracing one of the many multicolored peace signs on it.

I was now in the _P'_s and I could feel my patience evaporating. I needed a fast beat, something that you could find in a rave (I guess). That's when I found the perfect song: Pump It by the Black Eyed Peas. Oh, thank God. As the upbeat lyrics and melody filled my head, I opened up the book and fingered through the pages. Once I found my spot I removed the marker and placed it farther back in the book for safe keeping. So where did I leave off at? My eyes ran over the text, skimming for details. That's right. Edward was looking at her funny in Biology class, as if she smelled like something horrible. This was a romance novel?...

"Rei!" A shout came from nearby. Sighing, I closed the book.

"Sachiko, I can hear you just fine. There not on my ears." I pointed to my headphones which were wrapped around my neck.

I looked to Sachiko, my best friend since I had moved to Karakura Town. She had to be my closest friend out of the whole little group that I had. I could trust her with anything and always did so and she did the same with me. The mutual trust we held was like an unbreakable metal or impenetrable rock. Like diamonds. As pure and strong as diamonds and it had been that way almost since the day we met. She was beautiful, with her light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, and so well liked by almost everyone in our middle school, Mashiba Junior High. She was so energetic and playful that it was no surprise.

"Sure, whatever you say," she laughed and took hold of one of my earphones and pulled. Letting go, it snapped back and hit me in the neck. My choking noises only caused her to laugh more. "But they are pretty loud." She paused to listen, "Pump It? Nice! Oh hey! You're reading the book! How is it?"

"Well that wasn't random." I poked her in the stomach, causing her to squeak, "The book? You were right; it was pretty boring in the beginning and now Edward's looking at her as if she bathed in trash. Are you sure this is a romance novel?"

"I told you it was! And of course it's a romance book! They make out like every second!"

"That could be smut," I interjected with a roll of my eyes, "And what's with the apple?" I gestured to the cover, "Do the vampires suck the juices from apples now instead of blood?"

"NO! The apple's the forbidden fruit! You know how in the Bible how Adam and Eve took a bite from the forbidden fruit- you know?- the apple? Well Edward and Bella's love is kinda taboo so it's like the same thing. Forbidden."

I was somewhat stunned at that small monologue. I looked at the cover of the book yet again. It now seemed more insightful to me. Really, I had only started to read the book in the first place because I had heard so much about it. All of the reviews that I had gotten from other girls had been mixed, they either loved it or hated it with a passion. There was also the fact that I felt ignorant whenever my friends or other people would talk excitedly about it. I felt horribly ignorant and that was a feeling I did not keenly enjoy.

"Oh my gosh! I just remembered the new kid's coming today!" She brightened at the thought.

"Let's try not to scare the new kid."

"How about thoroughly surprise? Oh, Rei, what if he's hot?" She giggled in heated excitement.

"What if 'he' is a 'she'?" I felt that I needed to be the voice of reason in this situation. Last week our teachers had told us to expect a transfer student at the beginning of next week. We were told nothing but that. No name, no gender, nothing. But that didn't stop the excitement that spread through my grade. We didn't get that many transfer students since Karakura Town was such a small city.

"Man, Rei, you're such a kill joy today!"

"I blame Stephanie Meyer." I raised up the book and gave a joking smile.

Sachiko laughed. "Or is it that you're jealous you're no longer the new kid?" She looked at me slyly to which I only scoffed.

"I moved here three years ago."

"Yeah, but you're still the new kid on the block. Well, until our transfer student gets here."

I sighed. Sachiko teased me relentlessly whenever she could. It was like a hobby of hers.

"I just hope this one doesn't leave. My brother and sister said that they've been getting transfer students who come and go like the breeze." My older siblings, Fuyu and Natsu, both went to Karakura High. Fuyu was in her second year while Natsu was only a freshman. Fuyu always pestered him about that, to which he always commented on being taller than her despite the age difference. My sister always called him a freak for this (even though I'm pretty sure that he being taller is one of the normal-est things in the world) and would say he needed to be more like me, short. Usually it would end up that they both would make fun of how short I am. I blame my stunted growth on gymnastics.

"Yeah, especially if he's hot."

"If he's hot then he might _want_ to leave. Who would want fan girls?"

"You understand nothing." Sachiko let out a sigh and I only rolled my eyes.

"Sorry for my ignorance, all knowing one."

"Your ignorance and stupidity is forgiven, young grasshopper. You have yet to learn the beauty of the species called male." My caramel-haired friend lightly patted my head. She wore a calm façade devoid of her usual smile. She actually reminded me of an old sensei.

"Oh, teach me wise one!" I played along.

"I'm sorry, young one, but I am afraid that I will have to leave those teachings to the mystical force called Sex Ed." I saw her mouth twitch, almost smiling. I punched her in the shoulder.

"Ew! I didn't mean that!"

"I didn't either, I just wanted to see your reaction." She fully grinned down at me, holding back laughter, as she rubbed her shoulder. I guess my face looked hilarious to her because she soon let go of her laughter as we trekked on to school. Or what I call a smartly disguised prison.

"Shut up," I muttered. "We're here." We walked through the gates and passed a sign that proudly read 'Mashiba Junior High School'. We parted ways and headed to our respective lockers to get our supplies for our separate first periods. I threw everything into my locker except for a pencil and my messenger bag, which held a single folder, and headed off to Technology. When I got there I sat at a random computer and logged on, ready for class. I heard the chair next to me screech annoyingly as it was dragged back.

"Morning, Shorty." Said the person who plopped down in the chair. "Ready for the interesting lesson planned out for today?"

I looked up into the hazel eyes of Yamaguchi Daisuke, probably (ok, definitely) one of the best looking guys in our grade. I couldn't even count on my fingers _and _toes how many girls liked him. Some say it was his reddish-brown hair (they liked to call it bronze) while others say it was his playful simmering eyes. The less shallow ones said it was his funny and kind personality. Sluts said it was his sporty body.

"Ready?" I scoffed, ignoring the short comment. For now. I would get him later in gym. "All your going to do is play on the computer."

"While doing all the work for class. I _am _graced with the ability of multitasking." One turnoff that I always found in Daisuke was his arrogance, but I always found great fun in bringing his ego down a notch.

"Yes, I've heard of it. I just never thought you possessed it." He feigned hurt at my comment.

"Well-" He was cut off for the bell and the sound of hurried footsteps as kids tried to fill into the classroom at the last second. Conversations carried on as if they were still in the hallway, but Denshi sensei soon called us to order and told us to continue to make our websites. With that, he went to his own computer. I was always suspicious about what he did on there for almost the whole class…

"No transfer student, huh?" Daisuke piped up.

"Guess not."

"Wonder if it's a boy or girl." He wondered aloud while leaning back in his hair.

"I wonder if you'll do your work," I jabbed. Don't get me wrong, I was curious about the new kid too, but I decided not to worry about it. I learned from experience that if I made predictions about this kid I would be disappointed. I knew I disappointed many when I had moved here. Mainly girls, though, who were hoping for a hot boy. Unlike them, I knew that if I didn't set expectations for this kid they could easily _happily_ surprise me.

"Ouch." He let the remaining legs of his chair stomp down on the ground. "Here. I'll race you to see who can finish their website first, but it can't be crap. Winner's also determined by who gets the better grade."

"And what do I get when I win?" I smirked.

"Oh ho ho, getting a little cocky are we? Well, when _I_ win you're going to buy me lunch for the whole week and vice versa _if _you win. You know with the slim chance that you have." Daisuke returned my smirk with his own which was able to give nose bleeds to almost half the female population of Mashiba.

"You're on. I hope you're wallet likes the feeling of emptiness. On your mark, get set…. GO!" I said.

We both set off to finish our own sites. Too bad for Daisuke, I had finished this on Friday while he was playing Starcraft. Well bad for him, but good for my stomach.

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I slammed my locker closed and started to walk in the direction of my second period, English. A self satisfied smile made its way onto my face. I was going to get free lunch for the rest of the week. I entered English class with the same smile on my face and sat down next to Sachiko in my assigned seat.

"Someone looks happy. Have a good time with the oh so beautiful Yamaguchi Daisuke?" Sachiko smirked at me when I took my seat and waggled her eyebrows suggestively. This girl.

"My stomach's happy from the idea that it's going to get free lunch."

"You guys compete again?"

"Yep and he fought a losing battle." I grinned back. She smiled and shook her head.

"You two are so cute. Actually Daisuke's hot but you know what I mean," she rested her chin on the palm of her hand. Staring at me, she waited for an answer.

"We're not like that," I told her simply.

"Sure, sure." She looked at me knowingly which I hated, but she never ceased to do it. Truthfully, I had an on-off crush on Daisuke, but it was just that. On and off. Sachiko rolled her eyes at my 'denial' and squealed when she looked at the ground. "One-hundred yen! Lucky~!"

When Sachiko was born I'm sure there was some kind of heavenly light shining on her and words written in a rainbow over her head reading 'LUCKY CHILD'. She was way too lucky for her name, 'lucky child', to be a mere coincidence.

The bell rang and our sensei slammed the door closed on any child who tried to sneak in after it sounded. Marinori sensei was cruel like that.

"Good morning class. We have tests to hand back today, but also we have a new student." Her gazed fell on the door which she had just slammed. "You may come in now." This made me wonder as to why she had closed it in the first place, but I just concluded that she was crazy.

I was sure that there was a sound made as every pair of eyes in the classroom slid to look at the door. The knob turned slowly as if to tease us. I could hear Sachiko bounce excitedly in her seat. It finally ceased its turning and the door open and in walked our transfer student.

I could hear a couple sharp intakes of air.

The first thing that I noticed about the new kid was that he was a boy. The second thing was his white hair and teal eyes. And finally I noticed that he was drop dead gorgeous.

I glanced at Sachiko to see how she was taking the new kid's arrival. Not much better. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung slightly agape.

I looked back to the boy standing with his hands in his pockets at the front of the classroom. His hair was a stunning and pure white, even his roots. His eyes were a teal color that I could feel myself falling into if not for the guarded look he portrayed on his tanned face. He wore the uniform like any boy would, his white button up shirt and gray pants pressed to perfection. But on him it just looked _better_… as if it were designed and sewn for him. They flattered his body which I could tell was lightly toned telling by his tanned arms. The only flaw I could see was his height, which made him look small next to Marinori sensei but then again she was wearing heels. There was no doubt that he was taller than me though. It would be an accomplishment to be shorter than me…

All in all it looked as if God had decreed "Let there be perfection!" and zapped a spot on earth and this boy just walked out from it.

"Tell them your name," Marinori sensei said. It was more of a command. She seemed grumpier than usual today. Her boyfriend must have broken up with her or something. We better not be getting more homework because of this.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou."

There was another collective sharp intake of breath.

His voice perfectly matched his appearance.

"Well, Hitsugaya-san, you may take a seat in front of Hanamura. Hanamura, raise your hand."

It took a while, but Sachiko realized that she was, in fact, Hanamura and snapped out of her daze. Her hand shot into the air like a bullet out of its barrel. Hitsugaya made his way over to sit in front of her and I was surprised that he didn't just walk on air. I mentally slapped myself. _He's only a boy. Not a god_. Taking a deep breath, I reigned in my thoughts and frazzled mind. No more praising the new kid. He was human just like me and deserves to be treated (and thought of) like such.

Once he sat down in front of Sachiko (and diagonally to my left), Marinori sensei went around and handed back our last grammar test. I was satisfied with mine which happened to be a 90. A low A, I could live with that.

There was movement on my left, so I looked up to see Sachiko staring wide eyed at me and pointing a finger at Hitsugaya. She mouthed only three words to me.

"Oh. My. God."

Oh my God is right. She brought up a finger to her lips, as if to shush me, but shush me for what? Her other hand noiselessly crept over to my desk and grabbed my pencil. My face scrunched up in confusion at her actions. Once she had my pencil she dropped it. Dropped it! Why the heck is she dropping my pencil? I watched as my poor pencil slowly rolled forward and made its way to a foot. And that's when realization hit me like an angry boxer.

"Um, can you get that?" She tapped Hitsugaya on the shoulder. He gave her an expressionless side glance before bending over in his chair and picking up my pencil. He wordlessly handed it to her and before he could turn back around Sachiko spoke again, "Man, Rei, you're so clumsy!" She placed my pencil back on my desk. Hitsugaya merely raised a snowy brow before facing front once more.

Excuse me while I commit brutal murder.

The rest of class passed by in a flash with Hitsugaya only being called on once to read something out of the textbook. His accent was perfect, or so the teacher says, even though he told us that his native language was Japanese. I ignored Sachiko while I packed my things and left the class. I was being immature, I know, but I needed some time to simmer down so that I didn't actually hurt her. Third and fourth period were just as boring as second and none of my close friends were in those two classes. I could feel myself slowly dying. Soon it was lunch time so I headed to my locker and threw everything in there, slammed the door, and went off to find Daisuke.

"Hey, free lunch."

"You're brutal. I thought you forgot about that," He sighed and shook his head. We headed towards the cafeteria exchanging snide comments and sarcastic remarks. Piling my plate high, I smirked at him. How I love free lunch~!

"Whoa there, piglet, put some of that back." I gave him a glare in which he commented to, "I'm buying, so beggars can't be choosers."

I rolled my eyes and put back some food. After Daisuke paid we headed our separate ways. I went outside to find my friends at our usual picnic bench.

Sitting down, I tuned myself into their conversation.

"He's gorgeous! A god!" Mimi said. It didn't take me too long to figure who she was talking about.

"Ha ha. Yeah, Daisuke's got some real competition now," Achiita added in. When she noticed that I had sat down she was quick to greet me, "Hey, short stuff! You see the new kid?"

I ignored the short quip. Honpou Achiita kind of had a right to calling me short since she was the tallest out of our little group. Along with her height she was boyish and mischievous. Like me she was sporty. I think I would call her handsome instead of beautiful with her short blonde hair and smiling brown eyes.

"I had him in second period."

"Darn, I'm the only on who hasn't had class with him yet!" Achiita whined.

"We still have three more classes," Kaede said reassuringly. She tucked a lock of dark brown hair behind her ear and smiled softly at Achiita.

Takenaga Kaede had to be one of the nicest people I know. She was nice almost to the point of being naïve, but everyone loved her anyway. That wasn't her only good point. Her brain seemed to be its own encyclopedia and calculator; she was just that smart. And she never had a problem tutoring the mentally less fortunate (ahem Mimi).

"I get to see him first thing. We share Japanese class," Nagasaki Mimi gloated.

Sometimes, I really wondered how she ever came to join our group. She was girly, much more so than Sachiko or Kaede, and somewhat of a gossip queen. Scratch that; she was _the _gossip queen. Not to mention that (of course) she was beautiful with sandy blonde hair and striking emerald green eyes. But then I remember after thinking all this that she has always been loyal as a friend and never really showed an interest with being with the more popular girls. (Really, I didn't know who the popular girls were…) Her only bad point would have to be her brain, which was filled with so much fashion know-how and dating tips that it didn't seem to have room for such things like history or English.

"Well aren't you a lucky duck." I stated sarcastically.

And that left me, Omanashi Akirei. I guess I was more of the jock of our group. Oh and you can't forget the teased one. I was (no competition) the shortest one out of all of us, but I could also jump the highest. I don't really know whether to call myself pretty with my raven colored hair and gray eyes, but people say I looked like my sister Fuyu. And to me, Fuyu is pretty darn beautiful. To say the least I wasn't the smartest but no where near the dumbest and I was sarcastic. I don't know whether to call that good or bad. The only other thing that really comes to mind when I describe myself was my competitive nature. I never went down without a fight and if I did go down there was no way I would stand for it.

"I'm a girl not a duck, Kiki. Gosh, and you like to call yourself smart," Mimi flicked her blonde hair over a thin shoulder. Oh, and that brings up another thing about me. I have so many nicknames that I almost answer to anything, (like shorty).

I ignored her. For the rest of lunch we talked about school, sports, boys, Hitsugaya, fashion, hair, Hitsugaya, homework, horrible senseis, food, and once again Hitsugaya. I was ready to bang my head on the table. He was only a boy! Just like Daisuke. But I guess we had New Toy Syndrome where something seemed so much better when it was new and shiny. That's why for a while I was a little bit more popular than Sachiko or Mimi, when I first moved here.

Hearing the bell ring, we said our goodbyes and went to our fifth periods. I happened to have Science with Mimi and Kaede. My favorite class! I walked happily into the room and went to my usual seat to only find someone sitting in it. And who else would it be other then our hot new student.

"Hey… Hitsugaya, that's my seat…" I tried to be as polite as possible. Usually I told people to move their butt, but they knew that was my way of saying things. Unfortunately, Hitsugaya did not.

"Oh, Kiki, don't be such a sour puss. Let him sit there," Mimi said from her seat next to him. Traitor. I sighed, neglecting to tell her that we have assigned for a reason, and took a seat in front of Hitsugaya. Kaede finally came in and did a double take when she saw the white- haired boy in _my _spot. And you know what? For the rest of class I ignored Mimi's suggestion and was a _sour puss. _I felt immature for doing so but also betrayed. Already Mimi wanted to sit next to him instead of me. She was lucky I knew that she would soon be coming back to me.

Once the bell rang I headed out the door to go to Math class, with the saner half of my friends. I walked with Kaede and met Achiita on the way there. When we entered the classroom all of our attention was caught by an outrageous head of _white _hair.

"Is that him?" Achiita whispered down to me? I nodded my head. "Whoa."

The rest of Math went by with Achiita looking from Hitsugaya then to me and then back to Hitsugaya. She had a silly smile on her face too. But for some reason by the end of class the smile was gone.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I decided that he was just a boy." Achiita shrugged.

"Hey, guys, Hitsugaya-san looks lost." Kaede pointed a slender finger at the boy. We saw that he was indeed holding a map, a frustrated look on his face.

"Hitsugaya, where are you going?" I called. He looked up at me with those piercing teal eyes.

"Gym." Well, he was a chatterbox.

"We all have that too. You can come with us." I turned around and headed for the door, expecting him to follow me. Now that I think about it… all of the classes that I have after lunch are with him. I guess I'll be seeing a lot of him then. We even shared my second favorite class, Gym, which I had with all my friends. Upon arriving I turned around to see that he had followed us. "The boys' locker room is all the way at the end of the hall."

"Thanks," he nodded and walked away.

"Isn't he a talkative one?" Achiita had her hands on her hips. I agreed. This kid needs some classes of Social Skills 101.

"Maybe he's just shy…" There goes Kaede, giving him the benefit of the doubt. She really was too nice for her own good.

We walked into the locker room and were greeted by the rest of our little posse.

"He's human." Achiita concluded. "The way you described him made it sound like he glowed or something."

"You're just like Rei!" Sachiko cried. I rolled my eyes and started to take off my shirt.

"What game do you think we'll play today?" Achiita ignored the comment.

"Hopefully not dodgeball," Kaede looked down, somewhat depressed. She wasn't the sporty type. She fit in better at a library. Whenever we played any team games I always took it upon myself to protect her. Because of this she knew by now to always stand by me. I was the safest place on the field (except for Achiita).

"But that game's beast!" Achiita brought her shirt roughly over her head, ruffling her hair. I think Mimi nearly had a heart attack. I carefully put my charm bracelet in my locker and started to tie up my own hair.

We continued our conversation as we walked to the gym. On the door it read 'Meet on the field', so of course we headed there.

"Omanashi!" I heard a voice call out to me.

"Here we go," Achiita said under her breath.

My vision was instantly filled with the sight of one of my classmates.

"Omanashi! You said you would do it today! Come on, please?" Kyoko pleaded. It didn't take me too long to figure out what she wanted. She wanted me to flip. She found it to be the most amusing thing in the world, the thing is, I didn't. She made me feel like some kind of circus performer the way that she ogled at me and begged for more. It really made me wish that there were other kids that did gymnastics.

I sighed and moved farther away from her, gathering room for myself. I felt my pony tail swish as I threw my head back and left the ground, a feeling of defying gravity took hold of me.

"Whoa! You did it with no hands," she acted like I hadn't done it plenty times before… just for her. One couldn't imagine how many times I had said no to her…she just kept coming back.

"Keep your feet on the ground, flipper," a voice came from behind me. An agitated expression found its way onto my face.

"Yes, coach," No, he wasn't really my coach. He was merely a gym teacher who liked the sound of coach better than his own name. I don't think even half the student population remembered his real name because he always had us calling him coach or sir or general or something. There was a time when he wanted us to call him master. Of course that didn't bode well with any of the students. Or the teachers for that matter.

"Gather around soldiers," he yelled out to the field. He usually called us something from soldiers to maggots, never kids. It made me wonder if he ever really was in the military. "Now today we're gonna play Deactivate," I smiled curled on my face and I gave a high five to Achiita. Somewhere off to my left I could hear Kaede whimper. "It's boys against girls. Boys, if you lose than it's five laps around the field. Girls, you run three."

There were cries of how unfair that was from the guys. I raised an eyebrow. What was coach doing?

"That's no fair! Why do we have to run more?" I heard one class mate call.

"Because I'm tired of twinkle toes over here always winning!" He jerked his thumb in my direction. I fought hard to hold back a smirk. "Maybe if I give you boys some incentive then you'll finally win one." Glares were shot my way and I could see the death threats in their eyes. What drama queens; it was only five laps.

Clipping on my belt, I got a few pats on the shoulder and some apologetic looks. I understood; they thought I was a goner.

"Kaede," she looked up from tying on her belt, "You might want to hang around Achiita today." She nodded weakly and finished clasping her belt. We walked to the far side of the field away from the boys and waited for the signal to begin.

"You gonna be ok by yourself?" Achiita looked over to me, curiosity in her eyes. "I can help if you want."

"I'll be ok. I'll call if I need it."

"Same signal." I smirked and nodded. She returned it with a smirk of her own.

"OK! You ready? I don't really care, GO!" Coach yelled at all of us and bent over to turn on some music.

'All I Do Is Win' filled my ears as I hung back waiting for someone to come and get me. If I ever wanted a theme song it would have to be this. This was one of the reasons that I loved this class. Since coach was such an army jock he related everything to the field. So we got to listen to whatever kind of music we wanted. His reasoning: 'sounds aren't censored on the field. You hear what you hear'. If anyone ever complained and had the music replaced or taken away all together I would make it my personal business to punish them.

"I'm coming after you, Omanashi!" Daisuke cried. With that he rushed at me with the quickness of a puma. He was on me in seconds and was reaching for the flag velcroed at my side when I twirled out of the way.

"You have to be faster," I laughed.

He came again with practiced accuracy from all the sports that he played, but missed barely as I teased him.

"Oh, so close!" I laughed hard when I noticed something, "Daisuke, you might want to look at your waste."

"Not falling for it, Shorty."

I twirled away again with the grace of a dancer (well, because I am one).

"No really. I won't go for your flag. Just look."

He looked down and I held back more laughter as his eyes bugged. There on the ground lay his flag. It had fallen off while he had been going for me.

"What? No fair!"

"War isn't fair, soldier," I imitated coach. In this scenario he would have told us that dropping a flag like that was like shooting yourself with your own gun on the field. There were no re-do's.

Daisuke grumbled as he picked up his flag and walked over to the side of the field where other player who had gotten out were standing. I noticed that there were a fair amount of boys standing over there. Achiita's handiwork no doubt.

The sound of fast foot falls alerted me to another enemy. Turning my head, I saw that not only one boy was running at me, but three. They were coming quick too. I turned and ran for all I was worth but I could hear them approaching me. I cursed under my breath when I saw that they had driven me into a corner. If I stepped out of bounds then that was instant disqualification.

"It's over, Omanashi," one of the boys panted. They all stepped forward, reducing the space between us. Since they were so close I couldn't jump over them. I always needed a running start for those and usually a boost (the other person's shoulders) to get over another human being.

They took another step, just a little bit closer and I think I could grab at one of their flags, but that still left two. This was _so_ cheap. Another step. With growing frustration I whistled out a tune.

"I don't see how that's going to save you," the boy on my right said.

"Let's strike a deal," I stalled, "You leave me alone and I won't go after you later."

"Or we get you now and not worry about you later," the boy on my left answered back. These guys drive a tough bargain.

"No. I don't think that's going to happen," I smirked. The crackle of Velcro being ripped away filled the air. "Thanks, Achiita."

My short haired friend stood behind the boys, holding up all of their flags like trophies.

"No problem. I knew you would signal me. You can't take on all of them by yourself."

Walking out of my little prison I looked around to see that there was barely anyone left. Just me, Achiita, and a group off to my left. On better inspection I saw that it was a group of girls all after one boy. One _white_ haired boy. I groaned, he was good at sports too? I saw him skillfully dodge their grabby hands and with three quick movements he had all of their flags. I could make out my teammates stunned faces even from the distance that I stood at.

"Just looks like us and the new kid," Achiita told me. "Come on."

We jogged over to Hitsugaya at a leisurely pace; there was no need to waste energy. I could feel all eyes on us. The stares of the boys bored into my back. Hitsugaya was their last hope. If I got him then they all would have to run, and the field was pretty big. Achiita and I parted and started to circle around the boy like predators sizing up their prey. He didn't look tired. Actually he wasn't even breathing hard or sweating, unlike me and Achiita. How was that possible when he just fended off three girls?

Once Achiita was behind him she raised her left eyebrow. A signal. I rushed at Hitsugaya while Achiita did the same. He merely glanced over his shoulder at my friend and back to me. With a quick pivot he moved out of Achiita's line of fire. With another quick move of his arm he had her flag in his hand. What the-?

I jumped back before he could get me too. I looked at him stunned. Actually stunned is an understatement. No one was that swift. Not even Achiita and she moved with the speed and grace of a cheetah, her namesake. I backed up slowly and carefully, planning my approach.

"You better not hurt him, Kiki! I know how barbaric you can be!" Mimi yelled from the sideline. I twitched in annoyance. Whose side was she on?

"Shut up!" I called back, "I'm as civilized as the next person!"

"Then that must not be much."

Did he?... Oh yes he did. I whipped my head around to look at Hitsugaya once more. Something told me that I wasn't supposed to hear that. It had only been a whisper, but I had been able to pick it up. My face scrunched up in a scowl. I knew I wouldn't be able to abide by Mimi's wishes of civility any more.

I ran at him at a quick pace. I saw him start to pivot again, but I pivoted the opposite direction, landing me behind him. My hand shot out with practiced speed and accuracy, ready to grab his flag. Unfortunately, he slapped my hand away like a fly. His other hand came around, grabbing for my flag. I slapped his hand like he had done me and was surprised to find that his hands were cold.

Reaching again, I flew past him as he took a step out of the way and I'm sure I smelled watermelons. Weird. Boys don't usually smell like that do they?

I slid back away from him, taking a tiny break. We stared each other down. Man, this was the most competition I had had in a while. That was mainly because most of the other kids didn't take gym as seriously as I did. I didn't really care. They would be the obese people in the future.

With my short break over, I ran at Hitsugaya again. He shifted his weight a little bit. As soon as I was within three feet of him I crouched low to the ground and slid. On my way past him I reached out for a flag. The tail of it fluttered at my fingertips, teasing me. Trying to regain my balance from my sliding act, Hitsugaya shot off like a rocket towards me. _No!_ I jumped back, not completely in control of my body yet and tried to get away from him. But he was too quick.

The sick crackle of Velcro coming undone filled my ears as I landed on my back. An uncomfortable feeling lodged in my stomach. Hesitantly, I reached down to my side and nearly cried out. It was empty. My flag was gone.

Laying there, on the field, I watched as the clouds amble by, teasing me. Just like Hitsugaya's flag had been, they were out of my reach. I don't know how long I had been just lying there before a familiar hand reached down to me.

"Come on. It's ok. You win some, you lose some," Achiita grabbed my hand, since I was to slow to take hers.

"No…" I croaked out finally. I don't lose in gym. All I do is win.

"We might need to call a therapist," I heard Sachiko say as I was pulled to my feet.

We started to jog around the field and Kaede came over to comfort me.

"I'm sure we'll play another game. You can get him then. You just slipped last time," I looked into her warm eyes and smiled.

"Thanks."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

I threw my shirt into the locker, like it had done me wrong. I pulled out the white button up shirt and roughly stuck my arms through it. I changed in the uniform skirt before attempting to button the blasted shirt.

"Rei, it's ok," Sachiko said.

No it wasn't. We _had_ played again, but we had also _lost_ again. Three times. Three flippity times! And every time it ended up with a face off between me and the new kid. I can't even count (or remember) how many tactics I had used to try and get his flag. All were failures.

"Stop being such a drama queen," Sachiko said as I gingerly put back on my charm bracelet, "It's only gym."

"But we had to run like twelve laps! Now I'm all sweaty," Mimi complained. If I were in a normal frame of mind I would have been surprised that she could actually do the math. Sachiko gave her a look that said that she clearly wasn't helping. "Well, it's true!" Achiita stepped instinctively between us. She obviously thought I was going to punch her.

"Look at it this way: now you have a rival. You can only get better," my tall friend told me. I nodded my head slowly. That was true and I did like a challenge. I turned my head to smile up at Achiita. We always seemed to be on the same wavelength.

"Or depressed," Mimi said. She was so lucky Achiita was in the way.

"Mimi, that's not helping," Kaede said lightly.

Closing our lockers, we all left the locker room and subsequently the school. Sachiko told me bye and I started my solitary walk home, dreading the thought of homework. Opening the door, I noticed that some of the lights were on. It must be Fuyu and Natsu. Our parents should still be at work.

"I'm home!" I yelled up, so no one would think I was a burglar or some other unwanted guest. I heard the pattering of steps as someone came down the steps. Soon, my older sister, Fuyu, materialized at the landing at the top of the steps.

"Come on, Akirei! I have something to tell you," she called. As I made my way to the steps she must have found my progress slow because she said, "Hurry up! We don't have all day."

Calmly fastening my pace, I followed her up the steps and to her room, where Natsu was spinning around in her desk chair.

"Hey, imouto," he gave me a two finger salute. I returned it with one of my own before settling down on Fuyu's bed.

"So what's so important?" I asked as Fuyu plopped down next to me.

"New kids," Natsu grinned suggestively. I raised an eyebrow.

"_Hot_ new kids," Fuyu elaborated, "There's this one in my class whose head is like the sun! And he's so ripped, way better than other high school guys!"

"He's _bald_," Natsu shot back.

"No, he said it was shaven!"

"And you _believed_ that?" He snorted.

I didn't see why I was here, but Fuyu did enjoy calling sibling meetings so she could tell us the latest news about her school. She felt that I needed to know for some reason.

"Now, the new girl- she was hot," He said, smirking again.

"You mean her _boobs_ were hot," Fuyu rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"She had a good face too," I was totally lost. There was a boy with a glowing head and a girl with hot boobs now going to Karakura High? If I ever met these people I might laugh because of these descriptions. Deciding that it was time that I spoke up, I shifted over on the bed to face them more.

"Guys, I don't really get what this has to do with me…"

"Oh! That's right. Rangiku said that her little brother is going to your school and that he is absolutely adorable," Fuyu told me, leaning closer to me, trying to get the scoop. "So is he? Did you get a new kid?"

"Yeah…" I said, leaning away, uncomfortable.

"So… what do you think of the new _hot_ kid?" Natsu joined in, not wanting to miss a chance to thoroughly embarrass and tease me.

What did I think of Hitsugaya Toushirou? Well, he was sporty and smart and you can't forget that he was distractingly attractive. Really, it seemed like his picture should be in the dictionary right under the word perfection. Every question he was given, he was able to answer it correctly without skipping a beat. He was good enough at sports that he was able to beat me at my own game. Last but not least, his hotness could melt all of the polar ice caps and leave polar bears homeless. Finding my answer to my siblings wasn't hard. I cocked my head innocently to the side and gave them my number one cutest smile.

"I don't like him."

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**SORRY! This was a little late, but I had all this homework and and…. UGH! I hope you liked it. Sorry the end is somewhat unedited. Please review!**

**~tazdevil**


	3. I'm Stinkin' Unlucky

**WOOTS! Another chapter!**

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**()() TO BREAK THE CYCLE ()()**

_()() To Break the Cycle ()() © tazdevil_

_Bleach © Tite Kubo_

**C H A P T E R T W O:**

_~I'm Stinkin' Unlucky~_

* * *

**( O M A N A S H I A K I R E I )**

Hitsugaya had been here for a whole week and I don't think I liked him any better. The week that I had to endure was not only filled with girls going gaga over him, but with me constantly losing in gym. I had run so many laps that I think that my legs were starting to become muscular like a man's. Yick. The only thing that was somewhat positive was that I was getting closer everyday to ripping that flag right off his side. Last time I had actually gotten a whole hand on it. Unfortunately, he was quicker (like always!) and tore my flag off before I had time to even think about pulling his.

I probably shouldn't have had a mini celebration when I touched his flag. I made the mental note to rip then party.

"… fry," I looked up at the prospect of food, "Small fry, you ok?" Oh. It was just Daisuke.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You've been staring into space for like five minutes and," he turned my computer screen so I could see it better, "you didn't notice when I typed this."

On the screen it read 'I love Yamaguchi Daisuke with a burning passion that could put stars to shame.'

"Excuse me, I need to barf," I pretended to get up.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. But really, what were you thinking about?" He asked, as if he really wanted to know. Daisuke grinned, "It's ok if it was about me. That's understandable," I was thinking about a _boy_…

I scoffed, "You wish, Yamaguchi. I think I just baby barfed this time."

His face instantly grew serious for some reason. It was as if he were a completely different person when he spoke this time.

"You were thinking about Hitsugaya."

I gave him a weird look that had a sprinkling of surprise. How did he know?

"Every girl thinks about Hitsugaya," It was as if he read my mind. "I didn't think you were like that."

That insult shook me out of my shock. "Like 'that'? You mean all gaga? Heck no! I was thinking about how I'm going to beat him in gym!" I needed to stop thinking about this boy. It was probably unhealthy, and if it was then more than half of the female population was morbidly ill. But if I put effort into not thinking about him then I would still be thinking about him. Just how I shouldn't be thinking about him and that was still giving the boy attention that he did not need from me. Wow… my head hurts…

"Are you serious?" He looked like he didn't believe me, but really why else would I be thinking of Hitsugaya?

"Why wouldn't I be?" I shot him a question of my own. With that, he broke out laughing, being his old self again.

"You are so dense!" He laughed. I frowned at that. I was _not_ dense. I knew perfectly well why other girls would think of Hitsugaya, I just didn't think those thoughts were necessary. How could I like a person like that in a week, anyway?

"I am not!" I said indignantly. I flicked him on the forehead for good measure. Releasing an 'ow', he took me into a headlock and told me to apologize. Like I ever would. A cough came from above us. We looked up to see our teacher looking down on us with pure disdain in his eyes. Daisuke and I probably had the highest grades in his class, but we still seemed to be far away from model students. You didn't have to wonder why.

"Would you like to take this wrestling match outside?" Noticing that his arm was still around my neck, Daisuke removed it, and he now used his newly freed hand to scratch the back of his head sheepishly. I had the decency to be embarrassed about his question. "Don't answer that. Just stand outside."

He dismissed us into the hall with another look of dislike, and we stood out there trying to withhold laughter. We stood on opposite sides of the door, so we wouldn't be able to reach each other and dig a deeper hole for ourselves. After ten minutes we were allowed to come back into the class, although I think Denshi sensei was reluctant to let us back in.

At the sound of the bell, I shot up from my seat, ready to leave this class.

"Don't you look eager?" Daisuke taunted.

In the girliest voice I could muster (which wasn't that hard since I am a short girl with a fairly high voice), I batted my eyelashes and put on a dreamy smile, "I have class with Hitsugaya next. You couldn't _possibly _understand the happiness I'm feeling right now."

He smirked at my sarcasm, and his eyes drifted to something over my shoulder, in the direction of the door. At the sight he let out a short laugh.

"Your object of affection just heard you. I hope _he_ can understand your happiness."

_What? _ I whipped around to see Hitsugaya giving me the strangest look that I have ever seen in my life. It was a cross between the look you would give a mentally unstable person and one that you would give a rabid squirrel. _Oh god_. He thought I was one of his fan girls now. On impulse, I briskly walked towards him, wanting to fix the horrid misunderstanding. He backed up. I can't blame him. I would too.

"Hitsugaya, I didn't mean it like that…" I couldn't just tell him that I was using him as a joke. That would be cruel and now I felt horrible for talking about him behind his back. An uncomfortable feeling set in my stomach, and I knew it wasn't indigestion.

"Then what did you mean?" His voice was sharp and cold. It surprised me really. What could I tell him? 'I get a laugh out of the way girls think about you'? No, that was just weird, especially since I was a girl.

"I… really like English class, not because you're in it. I just like it," I told him, and I felt totally lame when I said it. Hey, I didn't need to give him excuses because I said something! When you're the new kid you should be ready to have people talk about you. I knew that lesson well, "Don't be so full of yourself." I nearly kicked myself when I said that.

"_Excuse me?_"

Being the stubborn and proud child I was, I felt there was no going back, and sniveling at his feet, telling him that I didn't mean it did not appeal to me.

"You heard me." As I said that, his eyes didn't seem as cold. It wasn't that he liked me any better than he did before; I feel it was more out of relief. That's weird. Not really wanting to continue this confrontation, I weaved around him to get out the door. I kept telling myself that I was not running away, but only leaving.

As I walked away, Daisuke caught up to me, that same smirk on his face.

"Smooth."

"Shut up," I sneered. "You could have warned me."

At this, he only laughed and ruffled my hair. I had the inclination to bite him, but something tells me that action wasn't socially acceptable. If he had told me that Hitsugaya was behind me then we could have avoided that. Now I've gone and offended him. I groaned. My kaa-san had always told me that I needed to apologize to people when I offended them, which I don't do as much anymore. Unless the little scenario back in Technology was anything to go by.

"Now I have to say I'm sorry," I muttered. I was, in fact, quite sorry. I just didn't like doing it. Saying sorry meant that you acknowledged that you were wrong.

"What?" Daisuke leaned closer to try to hear me. I waved him off and started to walk over to my locker, leaving him behind. Now how do I go about apologizing?

I tried to formulate a plan as I walked into English. He only sat a few feet away, there had to be some way for me to do it. Sitting down, I continued pondering.

"What ya thinking about?" Sachiko leaned over onto my desk. I debated over telling her.

"Sachiko… how do I apologize to a person when things are… awkward?" I didn't really know Hitsugaya. What if the way I did apologize offended him even more? I could actually see myself doing that.

Sachiko sighed, "Rei, what did you do now?" To this I pouted.

"Who says I did anything? I could be asking for a friend."

"Because your friends are my friends _and_ you're always doing something," She answered simply, as if it were a known fact. She had a point though, but I would never tell her that. She scratched the back of her head in thought, "Well, usually you just say I'm sorry. You could get them a present too, but if it's awkward like you say then you probably shouldn't do that. What did you do?"

I nodded at her suggestions and ignored her question. I knew that if I told her I would get teased to no end.

"What did you do?" She shook my arm, trying to grab my attention.

"Nothing! Don't worry about it," I grabbed at her hand to cease her shaking of my arm. Thankfully, before she could ask again, the bell rang to signal the beginning of class. My eyes flickered to the left as Hitsugaya took his seat. Maybe I should just not talk to him or about him. Life would probably be easier that way, but I had to apologize to him.

I let out a sigh, earning me an odd look from Sachiko. I suddenly brightened at an idea. I ripped out a piece of paper from my notebook and got out a pencil.

'_I need to talk to you at lunch.'_ I wrote. Peering up, I saw that sensei was facing away from us, writing something boring on the board. Good. I aimed carefully (it would be dumb and embarrassing if I missed) and threw the note to Hitsugaya's desk. I wouldn't chance passing the note through Sachiko; I didn't feel up to explaining my awkward moment of the day.

The snow haired boy looked back at me, an eyebrow raised. I nodded my head and signaled for him to read it. Watching, his shoulders seemed to tense. Why would that happen? I simply wanted to tell him I was sorry, it wasn't like I wrote a love note. I thought over what I wrote and froze. Oh. Crap.

'_I need to talk to you at lunch'_. I wrote him this note after I said that I found happiness in having him in my class! Of course it looked like some little girl's love note. He probably had received his fair share of them already. I might as well have added a '_hee hee 3'_ at the end of it. The outcome would be the same. I groaned and hit my head on the desk. I am so stupid. I really should just ignore Hitsugaya, but he was my rival, even though it was self-proclaimed. Well, by me, so it was a one-sided rivalry, but I was going to beat him either way.

I felt something thin hit my head and heard a soft _clack_. Looking up, I saw that my traitorous note had been neatly folded and thrown back. Opening it and reading, I didn't know whether to grimace or blush, so I did some odd mixture between the two.

'_Aren't you happy enough in seeing me in English?'_

That smart-aleck.

I sent one of my deadliest glares his way. Jerk. What if I had been an admirer? He could have crushed me and caused me to become one depressed teenage girl. I hear they are quite unstable.

'_You wish.'_ I erased that as I realized it would only place me farther from my goal: apologizing. _'With that hair? I don't think so. I don't go for delinquents.' _I clenched my jaw and erased that too. All I could think of were insults. It was like a reflex to snap back at such a remark. Deciding on the nicest thing that came to mind, I wrote: _'Your presence has nothing to do with the way I feel. Actually, I don't even enjoy English, thank you very much. I just need to talk to you at lunch.'_ That's the nicest note this kid is going to get. Even though I did basically tell him that he means nothing to me. Ah well.

I checked the teacher's position once more and threw the note back to him after I decided it was safe. He looked back to me, but this time a glare was etched into his tan features. The look completely said 'are you serious?' I shot him a look that replied 'Yeah, smart one.' Hitsugaya rolled his eyes at my expression and turned back around to face the front.

A tap came from my left.

"What is it?" I whispered over to Sachiko.

"What are you and Hitsugaya-san talking about?" She looked at me from the corner of her eye, still diligently taking notes, "Oh my god… Are they love letters?"

I felt my eyebrow twitch. So many answers were racing through my head. I held my tongue and kept the sarcastic answers to myself. I didn't need to say anything like 'Yeah, we're madly in love' and creep out Hitsugaya more. I seemed to have a gift for that though.

"It's nothing. Focus on class." I told her discreetly. Please drop it, I thought to myself.

"It doesn't look like nothing. Come on, tell me." So much for dropping it.

My face contorted into a frown. I nearly wanted to tell her to ask the boy himself, but I held myself back. What if he said something weird?

"Really, don't worry about it," I told her, to which she pouted. To console my best friend I added, "I'll tell you if it gets serious."

Now define serious…

Sachiko seemed to be appeased by my answer. She turned back so she was facing fully front in her chair. I, on the other hand, still sat at a slight angle waiting for Hitsugaya to write back.

_Clack._

I took the note and slipped it under the desk before anyone could see it. With a quick, confirming look at my sensei, I opened the note and read.

'_What do you need to tell me?'_

I wanted to slam my head against the desk.

I told him I would tell him at lunch! I crumbled the note as quietly as I could. There was no point in this. Deciding on another plan of action, I sat back in my chair and finally gave my sensei the attention that she was paid everyday to receive.

When the bell rang I was the first out the door, after I had told Sachiko to go on without me. Standing by the door, I waited for a specific boy. White caught my attention and I soon followed after it.

"Hitsugaya!"

He turned back to give me a sour look.

"What is it, Omanashi?" He held the look and had a voice to match it.

"Well, you see…," How was I supposed to phrase this? "I wanted to tell you at lunch something." I fumbled for words. I was never good with apologies.

"I got that from the note." He said, his eyes only looking forward as we walked down the hall side by side.

He didn't have to be such a hermit. Geez.

"But I'm just going to tell you now," I said, masking a roll of my eyes, "About the thing in Tech, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of you like that. So… yeah." I shrugged. That's all I had and if he didn't forgive me, at least I tried right?

"That's all?" He looked at me from the corner of his eye.

What do you mean that's all?

"Umm, no. You kinda need to accept my apology." I gave him a weird look. How antisocial can a person get? I could clearly tell that he didn't want to talk to me. And the way that he just kept looking straight ahead made me feel barred out and away from him. It was like he had a barrier or his own little world that was completely impenetrable.

It pissed me off.

"I accept your apology." He said in a monotone. We kept walking and I struggled with what to do next. Should I carry a conversation? Maybe I should just leave. This was so awkward. While I pondered over what to do I failed to notice Hitsugaya take a couple turns. I merely followed him like a brain dead puppy on a leash.

"Omanashi."

I snapped back to attention. "Yeah?" Man, was I out of it.

"You need to stop following me." He stated. Following him? I wasn't… Oh gosh, yes I was. I looked around and felt a weight settle in my stomach. I had mindlessly followed him to the bathroom. Heat rushed to my cheeks.

"Oh."

He walked into the bathroom without a second glance, and left me blushing at the door. Realizing that he had ditched me, I clenched my fists. I had half the mind to kick the door, but stopped. I had just apologized and didn't feel like doing it again.

With that, I turned and left with the last pieces of my dignity and went to class. In the back of my mind I made a note to get Hitsugaya back somehow.

I can't say that the classes went by quickly, but they did pass in a blur. Nothing really kept my attention, even in Science. I was happy when Gym finally came. It meant the end of the day. And another try at getting a certain boy's flag.

I felt a smile curl on my lips. Today would be the day I got it. It just felt like it.

"Someone looks happy." Achiita smirked from her position next to me, her skirt making its trip down her long, slender legs.

"I know I'm happy. Hitsugaya's in this class!" Mimi piped in. I shivered at the resemblance it had to my conversation with Daisuke.

Not feeling like hearing Mimi call such a cold kid hot again I said, "I'm just ready for some major flag ripping. My day's kinda sucked." Kinda was an understatement. Two embarrassing moments with Hitsugaya surpassed my fluster quota of the day.

"I'm with you on that." Achiita pulled on her gym shorts.

"I really hope you get Hitsugaya-san's flag today," Kaede quietly said.

"She better. 'Cause I can't get it." Achiita gave me a pointed look.

"And I'm tired of running," Mimi pouted.

"Guys, stop it." I smiled as Sachiko came to the rescue. "We can't help it if Hitsugaya is a sports god." My smiled died on my lips. Thanks Sachiko.

"True." Mimi combed her hands through her hair. She had already taken it out of a ponytail and put it into another five or six times. I was thinking about suggesting to her to get it cut like Achiita's.

"Then does that make Rei a goddess? She's the closest one to getting his flag." Kaede asked innocently after her head popped through the collar of her shirt.

"Maybe a demigod," Sachiko poked at one of my sides, eliciting a small squeal from me.

"Don't do that!"

"But it's so fun! You always make a funny noise," She laughed.

"Oh, um, Rei?" Kaede asked.

I looked up from taking off my charm bracelet, "Yeah?"

"I noticed that Hitsugaya-san gets you on your right side. I just thought you should know. I wasn't thinking that you were being careless, I just wanted to tell you so-" she started to wring the ends of her shirt. Kaede never liked hurting another's feelings and was always careful not to. She must have thought that I would feel offended that she pointed out my weakness. A weakness I hadn't noticed.

"Thanks." I silenced her rambles with a grateful look. Kaede was such a fragile child. I knew I couldn't treat her the same way I treated others. I knew I could be a little bit callous.

As we exited the locker rooms, my mind wandered to what Kaede pointed out. This implied that I left my right side open. Or it was lacking the same protection that my left had. Which made sense. I am a lefty.

The Spring's humid air reached us as we went down to the field. I felt water drops spray onto my ankles with each step. I frowned. Had it rained during the day? I had never noticed, but now as we trotted on wet grass that was the only conclusion I could come to. Not good.

"Flutter Step," I looked up at the sound of Coach's voice. I mean Sir. This week he felt that we should all call him that instead. He said it sounded more like a term of respect than 'coach' did, "Is everyone here?"

I held back a sigh as I scanned the grounds. I should get part of his paycheck for all the stuff I did in this class. I nodded when I felt that everyone was accounted for. My eyes didn't even linger on a white head of hair.

"Good. Now go to your side so I can blow the whistle and watch you lose again," He stated. If I had been Kaede my eyes might have watered at the comment. I on the other hand merely turned around and rolled my eyes and then smirked. I didn't plan on losing.

When the whistle blew, I hung back for a little bit. Unlike last week, no boys rushed at me. They no longer felt the same urgency now that they had Hitsugaya.

Dodging a male, I ripped his flag off his side, the Velcro making a satisfying crackle. Running around the field, I retrieved flag after flag.

"That's how you do it!" Achiita came up next to me, throwing stolen flags into a pile at our feet, "For a second I thought you lost your touch. I think today we're gonna get him."

"I _know_ we're going to get him." I smirked and looked around the field.

My stomach clenched in anticipation.

There he was; the rest of the field was clear. Our classmates stood at the sidelines, only one flag hanging from each of their sides.

"He's all yours," Achiita moved away. "I'll come if you need me."

I nodded as I jogged closer to the boy. I knew not to rush him anymore. Unlike normal boys, he didn't panic at another running full speed at him. Going against him took thought and planning. Something that I wasn't used to in gym. Usually I just followed instinct.

I saw a muscle tense in his shoulder and ran at him. Just as I got within ranger of him, he reached for my right side. I smirked. Kaede had been right. I slapped his hand away without a thought and countered by reaching for his flag.

He jumped back just in time. My fingertips tingled from the light, fluttery touch of the end of his flag. So close.

Another plan formulated in my mind and ran at him again, only to have the plan crumble right around my ears.

I slipped. I flipping slipped. I cursed myself as I began to fall. How could I forget about the wet grass? My arm spazzed out and grabbed for Hitsugaya's flag in a final attempt. Once I hit the ground I knew I would be stripped of my flag. I felt my fingers grab fabric and a grin came to my face as I didn't even need to pull. It began to fall from my full weight being on it as I fell.

I hit the ground with a muted thump. I was barely starting to sit up when something fell right on top of me, winding me and putting me flat on my back once more. I opened my eyes slowly which had closed on impact.

Teal. It invaded my vision and I fought for my eyes to focus.

I wish I hadn't for heat rose to my cheeks.

I finally registered the weight that pressed down warmly on the rest of me. I should have just kept my eyes closed. I should have closed my ears too, for I heard gasps cut through the air. I finally realized that I hadn't heard the sweet sound of snapping Velcro. With dread, I figured that I had grabbed his belt in all my flailing. I'm such an idiot.

My body felt frozen as we just stared at each other, neither daring to move.

The crack of Velcro brought me back and for a second a weight settled in my stomach. Had I lost again?

"Rei!"

Achiita?

Hitsugaya was off me in milliseconds, recovering faster than I did. I slowly got to my feet and felt something brush at both my sides. I looked down in confusion and saw both my flags. What?

Red was jiggled around in my periphery. Moving my head I saw Achiita's wide grin and a flag in her hand.

"I got it! Good job with the distraction," she cheered.

Che. Distraction? I wish.

"How long were we… like that?" I looked down, trying to hide my pink cheeks. I had _really _gone over my fluster quota today.

"Like ten seconds," she waved it off. Really? It felt like hours. "I was already coming towards you when you started to fall. But I do think you have become female enemy number one."

I looked over to the girls in our class and they sent glares back. I shrugged it off. I would probably be ok. Maybe…

"Oh."

"Cheer up! We won!" She swung the flag around a little more.

This surely didn't feel like a win. A weight settled in my stomach. I had never been that close to a boy. Not even Daisuke and he was always messing with me somehow, like that noogie he gave me earlier. It also did feel fair and it wasn't even me who got his flag in the end. That fall hadn't even been one of my tactics. It was a fluke, a mistake. The weight increased in my innards as I realized I couldn't be satisfied by such a win.

I was brought out of my thoughts as my other friends came over and asked if I was ok. Sir called us in, saying it was too dangerous to stay out here. He said that it was a 'strategic retreat'. Really, I just think he didn't want me to 'win' another game.

Time flew as I just goofed around with the girls and we were soon back in the locker room and out again, walking home. When I got home I trudged up the stairs and ignored the noise coming from Fuyu's door. She knew I was here because it wasn't like I hid my presence.

I closed the door behind me and dropped my backpack on the ground, in favor of going to my closet. Finding a comfy pair of shorts and a cozy sweatshirt, I changed into them. After I dragged my backpack to my bed that was under the window, I slumped into the covers and took out my iPod. I just put it on shuffle and it went to 'I Hate This Part' by the Pussy Cat Dolls. Very fitting for what I was about to do.

Fishing around, I pulled something out of my backpack. Pulling it into my lap, I stared at the cover of _Twilight_ before finally opening it. Bella had just figured out Edward was a vampire and now he was telling her how dangerous he was.

I kept drifting in and out as I read and I had to keep rereading sentences. Finally excitement started to fill me as Edward started to head towards the light. Here it was.

Was he going to transform? Was he going to burst into flame and then regenerate? Was he going to do both?

My eyes went back to the page for the answer. I read it. Then I read it again. And again. This couldn't be right…

He _sparkles _in the sunlight? He sparkles? That wasn't dangerous, that was inviting. That was girly, that was laughable, that was degrading to vampires! The only thing that kept me from throwing this book at a wall and shredding it was the fact that it was Sachiko's.

Instead I snorted and tossed it to the corner of my bed.

Now that I wasn't focused on the book other noises reached me.

I could hear my mother call my sister from downstairs. Expecting to hear Fuyu's voice come from the other side of the wall, I was surprised to hear her downstairs too. How long had I been reading. I looked to the clock. Whoa! An hour and a half. What a waste of like!

It sounded like kaa-san wanted Fuyu to get some groceries, but I heard Fuyu say something about a show. I knew that meant kaa-san would go to the basement, where Natsu's room was (I called it the boy cave), and ask him. Even though I prayed he would just accept I knew who she would end up asking.

Not even two minutes later, her voice called up the steps.

"Akirei, what are you doing?"

"Something important," I yelled back. It was basically the truth. I was breathing. That's important.

I heard the sound of footsteps, muffled by the carpet, coming up the steps. Soon my kaa-san was standing in my doorway giving me a look.

"Akirei."

I rolled off the bed, "Fine, I'll go get the groceries." She smiled at me, thanking me for not putting up a fight. I swear I did most of the work out of all of my siblings. I shoved my feet into my shoes, not feeling in the mood to actually tie them. Kaa-san had already made her way downstairs when I got there.

"Here's the list. Try not to take too long ok? Karakura might be a safe town, but every place has its bad people," she warned me. I simply nodded and took the list out of her hands.

On my way to the front door I passed by the living room.

"Hey!" Fuyu called from the couch.

"What?" I said as politely as possible. I wouldn't have to be down here if she had just recorded her dumb show.

"Give me your iPod. I don't want to starve because you were too busy dancing in the streets."

"No." I continued past her.

"Hand it over."

"Not happening."

"Kaa-san!" she called. I threw my iPod at her, hoping to knock her out. Then she would definitely miss her show. "Hey! Watch it!" I kept myself from exploding as I made my way to the door. "Don't die," she called after me.

"Yeah, if I did who else would there be to do your chores?" I snorted.

"Exactly."

I slammed the door behind me. Sometimes, Fuyu just gets under my skin. It was like the world revolved around her. 'I don't want to starve because you were too busy dancing in the streets' my foot. She was lucky I was even getting the food in the first place. What bugged me the most is that there was nothing that I could really do about it. My parents weren't explicitly on her side, but she had them wrapped around her finger more tightly than I did. She had more years of experience with them than I did. Plus, she was better at debating and proving her point than I was. I was more of an actions person then one of words.

I strolled down the sidewalk at a leisurely pace. Fuyu would live if I took a little bit of time. Then I remembered that there were four other people to feed, including myself, so I hastened my pace. Something shiny caught my eyes as I speed-walked past.

"Lucky~!" I exclaimed, feeling very much like Sachiko. I bent over to pick up the yen, feeling very smug.

As soon as I picked up the yen piece a chill went up my back, as if someone were trailing their fingernails up my spine. Self consciously I shivered. Slowly standing back to my full height, looked around and nearly let out a screech. A monster was standing but a few feet away.

It had the body of a lizard and its face… was that a mask? It doesn't matter. All I need to know is that this thing is horrifying. As I stared at it I could feel my heart beat quicken, rivaling that of a marathon runner's. Was this thing going to kill me?

I took a cautious step back. I had watched so many shows where people had been killed because they broke out into a panicked run. I needed to be smart. I took another step back and the beast's golden eyes flickered down to my feet.

"_Is my dinner trying to run_?" an eerie voice entered my head. My eyes widened as I stared at the lizard.

"You talk…"

"_Yes, yes, I talk. Not too bright, are you_?" I narrowed my eyes at the remark, but held my tongue. I knew I had the uncanny ability to piss people off, and I definitely didn't need to do that now.

Should I take another step back? I didn't know. Now that I knew this monster had some intelligence, normal tactics might not work on it. _Be still_, I decided._ Be still and wait for the perfect moment._

My breath caught in my throat as I watched its muscles tighten. Here it comes… As it sprang at me, something primal acted up inside of me, some kind of self preservation instinct. And with that, I ran for dear life.

"_Oh thank you! I thought that this would be another boring kill_!" It laughed as it skittered to catch up with me.

Again I kept quiet. I needed all the oxygen I could get, and I'm sure no snarky remark or sarcastic comment would save me.

Why is it that when Sachiko picks up a yen piece she gets to keep it, but when I do a monster chases after me? Maybe that was it! I threw the yen piece behind me, hoping the masked monster would take it and _buy_ itself some dinner.

No such luck.

I cursed under my breath. This was _so_ wrong. Monsters didn't exist, yet here I was running for my life. More houses flickered past as I ran by. That's when I noticed it. Where was everyone? Why was no one helping me? Can't they see this?

Oh god. Maybe they couldn't see this. What if I was the only one that could? Don't tell me I'm going mentally insane! Maybe I was dreaming or hallucinating. Taking a look back, I decided not to test my theory. It would be just my luck to stop and have this thing tear my head off and make a buffet out of my intestines, and actually prove that it was real.

I could feel my innards twist at the idea.

"_This game of cat and mouse is getting boring_," it sneered from behind me. _Oh yeah?_

"Well, here's some excitement," I couldn't hold myself back from saying. Lowering my running stance, I picked up a rock without stopping. I looked back again and took quick aim. Doing a quick spin, I let my arm fly and threw the rock as hard as I could. As I turned back around, I heard it let out a screech as the rock made contact with its mask. I wish that that would kill it, but I wasn't that delusional to hope for something like that. Instead, I wished that it left a dent on its mask.

"_You little_-" now even monsters were insulting my height? What the heck. "_I'm done with this!_" I noticed something coming fast in my peripheral vision and then I felt the pain. Some part of the monster hit my side, sending me flying through the air. Oxygen left my lungs in a huge gush, and I'm sure I heard the cracking of bone. Most likely my ribs. My head collided with a tree and left me dazed. When did we get to the park?... it doesn't matter, but what did was the fact that this _thing_ was only a few yards away. Feeling something sticky dribble down my neck; I reached a hand back to feel the back of my head. I pulled my hand back and saw that it was covered in crimson. Blood. Just great. I panted, from the run, from my fear, and from the thought that I was going to die.

What a way to go. My side was throbbing, pulsating, with pain. I had a head wound that I didn't know the whole extent of and pants that were soon to be wet. And now my vision was sprinkled with black dots, inhibiting it.

How could a normal errand turn into this?

I slumped against the tree as the monster stared at me, probably marveling at the damage it dealt me. A sick laugh confirmed that. Jerk. My eyes watered at the thought of my end, but I quickly wiped them away with the last bits of my energy.

Wasn't my life supposed to be flashing before my eyes right now? I was surely in one of those situations. I bet if I did see my life it would be pretty boring and repetitive. I saddened at that. I lived such a short and boring life. Also, I was going to die a midget.

My eyes started to close and I didn't fight the exhaustion. The monster came at me with a speed that told me that the little chase we had before had only been a game. It could have gotten me at any moment. As my eyes fluttered closed I caught a flash of… something. Now I was definitely hallucinating. _It doesn't matter_, told myself as my eyes shut for probably the last time.

* * *

**I didn't like keeping this in my computer anymore so here you go! I'll edit it later I promise! I just felt that you guys deserved something after all this time **

**~tazdevil**


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